


The anatomy of a dying star

by justanotherpipedream



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Firefly Setting, Alternate Universe - Space Opera, Avengers Family, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Implied Human Experimentation, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:49:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24871075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanotherpipedream/pseuds/justanotherpipedream
Summary: When Captain Bucky Barnes opened the crate, he was surprised. He thought of a million things that he might find, a hidden food-stash, some contraband supplies, maybe even a collection of weird dolls, Bucky wasn't one to judge. But what he never expected was to see the outline of a man, a very naked man, shivering as he woke up, blue eyes staring back at him.For Tony Stark Bingo, card #3043, K4 - Wake up!; A2: Mind-control brainwashing; R4: Helen Cho; A3: Free Square; S4: ResurrectionFor Starkbucks Bingo, O3: Under the Radar
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Comments: 43
Kudos: 280
Collections: Tony Stark Bingo 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MassiveSpaceWren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MassiveSpaceWren/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Burn and Boil (Through the Skies)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11056917) by [justanotherpipedream](https://archiveofourown.org/users/justanotherpipedream/pseuds/justanotherpipedream). 



> This is what happens when we talk about a Marvel Firefly adaptation that is closer to the original series, than my initial adaptation turned out to be. This chapter helps us fill bingo squares for:  
> Collaborator Names: justanotherpipedream/MassiveSpaceWren  
> Card numbers: TSB- 3043 (justanotherpipedream)  
> Squares Filled (for this chapter) justanotherpipedream - Tony Stark Bingo - K4: Wake up!  
> MassiveSpaceWren - Starkbucks Bingo - O3: Under the Radar

“Whatever’s in that crate must be very important,” observed Natasha. 

Bucky leaned back in his chair, cracking his neck with a groan. He was long used to Natasha appearing beside him without a sound. He waved his arm through the map that floated above the control room table. “Hmm?”

“Steve Rogers. The artist, or so he says. The one who’s getting dropped off on Persephone.”

“What about him?”

“He’s always circling back past the cargo bay every hour or so.”

Natasha handed him a tablet and tapped on the screen. The security feed of the ships’s cargo bay was pulled up. “To a civilian he seems calm. But I can tell he’s pacing back and forth, slowing down slightly whenever he passes by. It’s almost like he’s-”

“Patrolling,” answered Bucky with a frown. Bucky watched as the man rounded past Sam and Helen, smiling politely as he kept walking. A soldier with some level of training, with the way he scanned the room, calculating his escape routes. Different to the type of training he and Natasha had, but Bucky could see it in the way that the man carried himself. “What did he say was in there?”

Natasha shrugged. “He didn’t. He got drowned out by Hammer ranting about his fancy freeze ray and how he would freeze us all if we damaged it-”

Bucky frowned. “Where did Clint put that anyways?”

Natasha tapped the edge of the screen. “In the corner after he wrapped it in layers and layers of bubble wrap. He then stuck it in another large container.”

“Tape?”

“Pym glue. It’s gonna take a few hours just to cut through it.”

Bucky snorted. “As long as we don’t get credits deducted...” 

To be honest, none of them were fond of their other new passenger. Justin Hammer, of Hammer Industries, was by definition, a pain in their ass. If he hadn't paid them so much, he wouldn't be surprised if Natasha or Clint would have locked him in the supply closet for the remainder of their trip.

His arm clicked as he rotated his arm, stretching it out before he got to his feet. He could see Steve circling past the cargo bay and back towards his temporary room. “Let’s take a look.”

There was something about the way the man was constantly looking over his shoulder that had Bucky grabbing a crowbar on his way down the bridge. When they first met, the man seemed polite enough when he approached then. He asked whether they would give him passage to Persephone with no frills, as long as he and his shipment got there safe. There was something in his eyes that Bucky couldn’t put his eye on at the time, but the credits he had quickly had Clint ushering him onboard.

He wasn’t one to judge if someone was skimming the law, doing what they needed to in order to get by. Hell, he had Sam keeping an eye on their secret compartment, making sure the passengers weren’t getting too nosy exploring the ship as they got bored. 

But if this cargo attracted too much attention, well, then Bucky had to do something about it. His crew, his family depended on him for that. And something deep in the pit of his stomach felt uneasy, screaming at him that something was off. 

Nothing wrong with taking a quick peek right? If things seemed alright, he’d prop the lid back on and nobody would be the wiser.

With the crowbar in hand, he braced it against the lid to pry it open. It took a few tries, but Bucky could feel the lid start to loosen.

“What are you doing?”

Steve Rogers was walking towards him now, his eyes wild and arm outstretched as he made his way towards Bucky.

Shit.

Bucky paused for a second, watching as the man was quickly approaching him. He could recognize it now, that look in his eyes. He had seen it far too many times before. 

Desperation.

Bucky paused for a second. He chose his words carefully. “You never did tell us what you were transporting. You know, for papers. So-”

He drummed his fingers on the lid. “What’s inside?”

Steve stopped a few feet away from him now, his hands up, cautious. He lifted his head, his chin raised. “Like I said, art materials. They’re my livelihood, so you must understand that they’re delicate-”

Bucky raised his eyebrows. “I see. What’s your medium?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Your medium. What type of artist needs materials in a crate this large?”

Steve’s eyes flashed for just a second before they smoothed out. “Clay. I was commissioned to make a large sculpture.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky could see Sam and Natasha in the doorway, approaching from behind. With a slow nod of his head, he turned back to Steve.

“Right. I hope you’re a better artist than you are a liar.”

And with that Bucky, wedged the crowbar back in place. Steve lurched forward, but Sam and Natasha moved quickers as they each grabbed an arm and jammed their blasters against his back. He struggled in their gasp with a roar, “NO!”

Bucky cursed, moving quicker now as he popped the lid off. Surprise, another slightly smaller container was inside. 

“Please, I beg you- I can explain, just don’t open it-”

Bucky paused for a second, but didn’t glance behind him. “Is it gonna kill us?”

“No, but-”

Bucky pried the lid off the outer crate, revealing the inner metal container inside. He reached inside and pressed the button, watching as the container started to unlatch itself and open. A hissing sound echoed throughout the room, as a layer of white fog filled the room. He stepped back, ignoring Steve’s cries in the background staring at the contents of the container as the fog cleared. 

There was a figure curled up, naked, encased in the box. 

Blue eyes shot open with a gasp, and Bucky jumped backwards. He watched, stunned as the handsome, naked man stumbled out of the container, shivering now that he was awake.

“What the hell-”

A blur shot past him, towards Steve whose arms were outstretched, his sweater somehow already off to cover him. The sweater engulfed the smaller man as he shivered, and Steve clutched him close. “Tony, it’s alright- I’m here.”

The man stared at the rest of the room while he shivered, eyes flitting nervously between the other members of his crew. “Steve.”

Bucky exhaled sharply, cold fury running through him as he stepped forward. “You’ve got 10 seconds to explain why I shouldn’t shoot you where you stand. We may be smugglers, but if this is some slave trading shit-”

Bucky was impressed how he managed to position himself in front of the smaller man, as if he could shield him from them all.

“It's not what you think. This is my brother, Tony” interjected Steve. 

“…your brother?”

“Let’s hear him out,” said Sam. Sam stepped forward, pocketing his blaster slowly. He raised his hands as Steve stepped forward, using his body to shield his brother as much as possible from them. “This is a story that needs an explanation.”

Bucky exhaled, rubbing his eyes. He looked over to the doorway, where the rest of the crew has since come running. “Helen, can you take a look at him please?”

The doctor nodded. She stepped forward with a hand outstretched towards Steve and Tony. “My name is Dr. Helen Cho. If you’ll let me, I can take a look at you to check your vitals.”

Steve narrowed his eyes. “What kind of tests?”

Helen was a professional, and didn’t skip a beat as she calmly answered. “A physical to make sure that he’s alright. If he refuses any tests, I’ll skip it and move on. You can come with him if you’d like. You can answer the Captain’s questions later.”

Bucky sighed frustrated, but nodded. He might be an asshole, but he wasn’t going to make the poor man stand there freezing as he came back to life. “Natasha, go with them.”

Natasha nodded, her blaster still raised as she motioned for Steve to lead his brother to the med bay. 

Bucky could see Steve’s eyes darting around, accessing the situation. His shoulders slumped. He turned back to his brother. He rubbed Tony’s arms to try and get some warmth back into them. Steve looked like he was going to start crying as his brother's teeth started to chatter. “Tony? I’m so sorry-”

“C-c-cold.”

“We have warming blankets that will get him warmed up slowly in the med bay. This way please-”

With a nod, Steve gently led his brother after Helen.

He could hear Tony’s whisper into Steve’s shoulder. “I didn’t think you’d come for me.”

“Of course I did you dummy,” choked Steve. His smile was wet as he squeezed his brother’s shoulder, but Bucky could see how he was shaking. “I promised remember?”

The man, Tony, nodded, tears in his eyes. “You promised. Thank you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fills TSB, card #3043, Square: A2: Mind Control or Brainwashing

Steve stared at the crying baby curiously. The bright, blue eyes that normally stared back at him were now red and blurry, as they watched him. His face was scrunched up in a scowl as he sobbed. A tap on Steve’s shoulder had him jumping. Steve looked up at Ana. “Why is he crying?”

“Probably because he’s hungry.” She held up a bottle of milk. “Did you want to help me feed him, big brother?”

Steve’s eyes widened as Ana carefully placed Tony into his arms, gently teaching him how to support the baby’s head. Steve was afraid to breathe as Tony began drinking the milk.

“When are Howard and Maria- I mean, dad and mom, coming back?”

Ana paused for a second, before she resumed folding the towels in the corner.“I’m sure they’ll be back when they can Steve.”

Her smile didn’t meet her eyes, but Steve could at least appreciate the sentiment. It was out of love that Ana lied, for him and for Tony. Steve knew that their parents preferred staying out late at parties, over staying home with them. 

He just didn’t understand why.

“Right,” Steve replied. He glanced down towards his baby brother, who blinked up at Steve half-asleep now that he was full. He reached his small hand out to clasp one of Steve’s fingers. Tony was always happy to see Steve. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you,” whispered Steve. “I promise.”

* * *

Steve jumped out of bed as the thunder echoed throughout the mansion. He sprinted towards Tony’s room, lit by the small red and gold night light in the hallway.

As soon as he opened the door, Steve could feel his heart break. Tony was a trembling ball under his blankets, shivering as he tried to drown out the raging storm outside.

Steve sat on the edge of the bed, placing his hand on Tony’s back. “Tony?”

“Stee?”

Small blue eyes peeked up from underneath the pile of blankets before they launched themselves at him with a sob. Steve wrapped them both in the blankets. “Shhhhh Tony, I’ve got you.”

“I’ve always got you. I promise.”

* * *

“I don’t wanna go,” whined Tony. 

Steve glanced up from his art history textbook as Tony flopped face first onto Steve’s bed.

“It’ll be a chance for you to make some friends,” replied Steve. He tried to inject as much enthusiasm as possible into his voice. It was hard though, especially since he knew how much Tony was against the idea.

Howard had insisted as he did; the Academy was the very best of the best schools in the galaxy, and there would be no way Tony would turn that invitation down. 

He nudged his baby brother with his shoulder. “I thought you wanted to get a chance to go and do some ‘real’ science.”

Tony rolled his eyes, and Steve stiffed a laugh. Even at 15, Tony was still the most dramatic person in the world. “I do, but I don’t wanna only see my friends and you twice a year. I mean, how am I supposed to keep up with all of Jan’s updates? Or watch Happy stumble as he tries to ask Pepper out, or-”

Steve’s lips twitched. “I’ll write to you every week. Maybe I’ll even throw a sketch in every once in a while. Ana’s gonna send you so much baking you’ll probably get cavities. Edwin’s gonna send you all the clothes you’ll end up forgetting. You’ll get so tired of your uncool older brother messaging you that you’ll probably beg me to stop.”

Tony huffed. “Why would I? I’m gonna hoard all those for when you become a famous artist and sell them for a lot of money- ouch asshole, watch the face-”

Feathers flew everywhere as Steve whacked Tony again with his pillow. “How dare you sell off my hard work.” 

Tony grinned. “I’m kidding you dweeb. Of course I wouldn’t sell them.”

Steve waited as Tony fidgeted with his hands, patiently turning back to his book until Tony was ready to talk. Steve almost forgot that Tony was in the room with him until he heard him clear his throat.

‘..you promised so you can’t forget okay? I mean, I know you’re gonna be super busy chatting up all the hot girls at your fancy art university, with all your super cool friends-”

Steve’s eyes softened. “I promise, I won’t forget you Tony. I’ll always write to you when I can alright?”

“Okay,” nodded Tony. “Okay.”

* * *

“Steve, Earth to Steve. Are you okay?”

Steve shook his head as he glanced up. “Huh? We're not on Earth”

Sharon rolled her eyes. “It's an old saying. Besides, you didn't hear anything I just said did you?”

“Oh god Sharon, I’m so sorry-”

“It’s alright,” sighed Sharon. She closed her textbook. “You did warn me that you were distracted. So what are you all tangled up about?”

Steve frowned. “It’s my brother, Tony. I- I think there’s something wrong.”

Sharon leaned forward. ‘What’s wrong with Tony?”

“It’s just- these letters he’s been sending…they sound-off. I know it sounds weird, but- I know my brother, and something doesn’t add up here.”

Sharon tilted her head. “Okay, I believe you. Have you tried calling him?”

Steve furrowed his brow. “That’s just the thing. I’ve sent letter after letter asking for him to call, and every time I’ve tried- he’s always in class, or busy or I just missed him or some sort of excuse. And I know that sounds ridiculous but-”

“No,” responded Sharon shaking her head. “..actually that sounds odd. Maybe he’s having some sort of trouble at school he doesn’t want to bother you with. Let’s look at the first letter he sent that looks off to you. Maybe you can find some sort of clue of what’s going on?”

Steve and Sharon stared at the page, line by line as they read through the letter from Tony three months ago. It started off normally enough; general things about classes, different labs he had to do. It was written in Tony’s messy handwriting, so Steve knew that it was Tony writing it but-

There was just something that Steve couldn't’ put his finger on that was…off. 

“…Steve, did you see the back of the page?”

Steve blinked and flipped over the back. "Yeah, we usually trade sketches back and forth. He likes drawing robots-”

“No, really look,” said Sharon. She held the page up to the light. "Look at the grass.”

It took a little while for Steve to spot what she was looking at. It looked like a regular picture of a robot, DUM-E it looked like, with Tony outside. But inspecting it closely, Steve could start to see a small pattern in the grass, almost like-

“A series of numbers?” exclaimed Steve. “Do you have a pen?”

“Read them out to me,” responded Sharon, “Let’s see what we’ve got. They don’t seem like a pattern but- maybe a code?”

She heaved her cryptography textbook onto her desk. Steve blinked. “…I didn’t think you could take a cryptography course here.”

“You can’t,” replied Sharon matter of factly. “I’m borrowing this from my aunt. You’re lucky I haven’t given it back yet. Anyways, let’s see-”

An hour later, Steve and Sharon stared at the pages in front of them horrified.

EXPERIMENTING ON STUDENTS. SEND HELP.

THINGS ARE BAD. GET ME OUT.

STEVE PLEASE. HELP ME.

GET ME OUT. PLEASE HELP ME.

STEVE. PLEASE. HELP. 

YOU PROMISED.

YOU PROMISED.

* * *

“The Academy is one of the most well-respected institutions in the Alliance-”

“How can you say that? Did you not see the messages that Tony sent-”

“You’re pulling things out of the air Steve.”

“Why the hell would I make this up?”

“Steve,” Howard cut, “I understand that you miss your brother. But this is preposterous-”

“They’re monitoring his mail, look he hasn’t written to me in months! All my letters keep getting 

sent back- no phone calls, no visits are allowed - what kind of school does that?”

“Listen closely Steve. I will not have you ruin things because Tony is mad at you-”

“You’re not LISTENING-”

“You do not raise your voice at me boy,” yelled Howard. His eyes were black now, as he stepped closer, but Steve forced himself to stand his ground. Steve knew that Howard would use any inkling of weakness against him. “You will leave this alone, and go back to school. I will not have you ruin your future for this ridiculous conspiracy theory. Tony is fine.”

“He’s not and I’ll prove it-”

“ _Enough_. Enough of these rumours. I will not have you tarnish the Stark name-”

“The family name?” spit Steve. “I should’ve known that’s all you would care about. When you adopted me, I couldn’t believe that you would want someone like me, Steve Rogers, into your family. It didn’t take me long to realize that me, even Tony. We were only check-marks on your list of things to improve your reputation.”

“How _dare_ you suggest that-”

“You know, this time, I thought that maybe for once in your life, you’d actually find it in yourself to care about someone other than yourself, but no- surprise, surprise, you won’t lift a finger if it’ll cost you your fucking _family name_ -”

“ENOUGH!“

Steve saw the hand coming towards him out of the corner of his eye, and reached out to grab it with a snarl.

Howard blinked, staring at his hand in Steve’s grip, like he couldn’t believe what he’d almost done. 

“Steve-”

“Don’t bother,” Steve tossed Howard’s arm away. “I’ll find him and get him out of there, by myself. It’s no different than any other time now is it?”

Steve swung his bag over his shoulder, ignoring Howard’s face, a furious purple now. 

“If you walk out that door, don’t ever come back.”

Steve walked through the door without another word, without a glance behind him. The world was still blurry even as he swiped at his eyes, cold, unbridled fury filled his bones. 

"Steven-STEVEN!"

It had always been Tony and him against the world. 

He should’ve expected it. Why would this time be any different? 

He should’ve known. 

And yet, he still felt it, that bitter lump of disappointment.

Next time though- 

He would never make that mistake again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fills TSB, card #3043 square R4: Helen Cho

“No Tony-”

Bucky glanced up in time to see Steve rush past him towards his brother standing by the cupboards. Tony looked to be in the middle of ripping off the labels on the cans of food stacked up on the counter.

“No Tony, let go-”

“They’re not right, they’re not right, NO-”

“That’s it, let go, you’re alright, we’re alright-”

Steve had his arms around Tony as he guided them over to the couch in the corner. Bruce shuffled past the two of them and over to the counter, picking up the cans.

Bruce examined them with a nod. “They’re still good, no damage done.”

Steve glanced over, apologetically, “I’m really sorry about that-”

Bruce shook his head. “We can just have a few surprise meals, that’s all.” 

Bucky watched as Tony continued to squirm in his brother’s grip, his fingers twisting and turning in their hold. Before he knew it, he wandered over to the couch, squatting down so he could be eye to eye with them. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, glowing, rubix cube. 

“Here, why don’t ya give this a shot instead hm?”

Tony slowly reached out, staring at the cube in fascination. Bucky chuckled as he watched him lean back to play with it. A warmth filled him as he watched how delighted Tony was at the moving pictures that slowly began to form on each side of the cube. 

Steve slumped in relief. “Thank you.”

Bucky shrugged as he got to his feet. “It’s fine. We’re landing in a few hours. Will he be alright by himself?”

Steve shrugged but nodded, “Bruce agreed to sit with him in the engine room.”

Tony had found some comfort down there. He said it was soothing, the hum of the engine, and enjoyed spending his time down there when he was all alone. As long as he didn’t destroy anything, Bucky didn’t care. 

Hell, the other day he even managed to unclog some of the heating issues they were having, as all the warning lights began to flash. Tony calmly walked past the panicking Bruce and Bucky, reached in and rerouted some of the wiring. Seconds later, all the alarms went off.

“How did you know what to fix?” asked Bucky, bewildered at how quickly that was fixed.

“She sings to me,” said Tony. He patted the wall of the ship with a nod. “She tells me what she needs. She’s very handsome, like me. She was crying before, but she’s much happier now.”

“He figured what was wrong and fixed it right away” observed Bruce.

“He was really good with his hands,” said Steve from the doorway, “always taking apart things to put them back together again. He was always good at fixing things.“

Bruce smiled. “Sounds like you found your new mechanic.”

“Mechanic?”

Bruce smiled. “It’s not my favourite job, and Tony seems to enjoy it. It would probably take me twice as long to fix things as well. If he wants it, and the Captain agrees, Tony can help keep an eye on her for us.” 

Bucky considered them both. “The job’s yours if you want it.”

“Tony?” asked Steve gently, “Would that be something you’d like to do?”

Tony stared at Bucky for a second, his head tilted, considering. 

Tony hummed. He stepped closer to Bucky, and raised his hand in the air above his head, outstretched and expectant. 

Bucky chuckled and high-fived him with a grin. “A deal’s a deal. Welcome aboard mechanic.”

* * *

“Still unconscious, and not dead!” yelled Clint with glee. He flipped Hammer’s unmoving body with a flourish. He squatted to perch over the man’s head, peeling the guy’s eyelids open with his fingers. “Hells bells, you got him good doc!”

Helen rolled her shoulder with a shrug. “It’s what he gets for trying to sell us out.”

She only wished she pulled those restraints tighter.

Clint yawned as he leaned against the other wall. “I’ve got my eye on him. Nat’s gonna circle back in here once he’s awake to make his life uncomfortable. How’s our dashing hero doing? Still not awake yet?”

“Considering he got shot, I think he deserves all the sleep he wants,” said Helen dryly, “Not the easiest thing to walk off-”

“See? I should’ve just shot him with my crossbow when I had the chance.”

Helen rolled her eyes but didn’t disagree. Not only did the businessman try to kidnap Tony for the bounty on his head, but he tried to shoot their captain and everyone else in the process. She was only sorry that she didn’t hit him in the head harder with that clipboard.

“I’m going back to check on him. Let me know when this one decides to wake up.”

“Aye aye doc” saluted Clint.

She slowed down as she neared the corner, hopeful that Tony was getting some sleep while she was gone.

It had taken days for Tony to feel comfortable sleeping after he’d awoken. She stumbled across him one night, after Steve had fallen asleep exhausted after many nights of keeping watch. 

“Would you like some sleep aids? I can give you something to help you fall asleep."

Tony shook his head, his voice a whisper. “No thank you.”

She brewed him a cup of tea instead. He blew on the steam carefully. It was a familiar look in his eyes, one that she’d sometimes see in Bucky and Natasha’s eyes. “Are you afraid of nightmares?” 

She wanted to wince after the words came out of her mouth. She’d be more surprised if he didn’t have nightmares.

Tony stared at her. “No.”

He sipped at his tea again, his hands tracing patterns on the table. She waited patiently as Tony traced his hands over the table. She had asked Steve about it once.

“It helps him,” answered Steve, “he says his head is too full otherwise. So he traces things out, writes them in the air. Even before, he always used to always keep a notebook handy, in case an equation or idea would come to him.”

Looking at him now, with dark circle under his eyes, he looks like he could fall over any minute. 

Tony hummed, nodding to himself as he clasped his hands together. “I’m afraid of waking up.”

Helen blinked. “Of waking up?”

Tony bobbed his head. “Sleeping means waking up. I don't want to wake up from this dream.”

_He didn’t want to fall asleep and realize that him being rescued was a dream._

Helen swallowed tightly. “Oh honey-”

She reached out to place her hand over his. “You can feel that right?”

“Yes.” said Tony slowly. He stared at their hands considering. “They’re warm.”

“That’s right. You can feel the warmth of my hands, the warmth of your tea. Do you remember how we got here?”

“From the bridge.”

Helen chuckled. “I find when I'm in a dream, we tend to just pop into the middle of it. If you can remember the beginning bits, it’s probably not a dream. Where were you before that?”

Tony leaned forward, resting his hands on his arms as he thought. “Eating dinner with everyone.”

Helen nodded with a smile, “That ‘s what I remember too.”

Bucky wandered into the kitchen then and stifled a yawn behind his hand. “You both still up?”

Tony nodded into his hands, his eyes half closed now. 

“For now,” said Helen, dropping her voice down a bit. “How did things go today with Steve?”

”Not bad. He still can’t shoot a gun to save his life, but at least he’s quick on his feet. I also can’t figure out whether he and Sam will fuck or kill each other first-”

Helen couldn’t help but feel like she was invading on a private moment as she watched Bucky shrug off his jacket. He draped it gently over Tony, who was dozing lightly now, his face resting on top of his arms. His eyes softened and he carefully brushed the hair out of his eyes. 

She had never seen Bucky look so tender before. 

As she wandered back into the medical bay, the situation was startlingly similar. 

When Helen turned the corner, he couldn’t help but stop in her tracks. Bucky was still asleep, sleeping off his injuries. Tony had crawled out of his bed and was sitting in the chair next to him. He was leaning into Bucky without putting any weight on him. The blanket that she had tossed over Tony earlier, was now tossed over Bucky’s torso, covering everything except for his metal hand, which was currently intertwined with Tony’s as they both slept. 

She was about to back away slowly, but Tony sat up, rubbing his eyes with a groan. Helen wanted to curse for waking him up, but she approached with a smile. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s normally cold, always shivering. But he’s colder now. But he’s warming up.”

“Oh?” asked Helen. She picked up his chart and flipped through it. Bucky’s body temperature did tend to run colder than others, but it was surprising that Tony picked up on that. 

“He’s cold when he remembers, but colder when he forgets,” nodded Tony. He gently rubbed Tony’s hand in between his. “He’ll remember though. Not like me.”

She could hear Steve suck in a deep breath from behind her. He looked like he was struck by lightning, his face crumbling as he reached out to his brother. “Tony-”

Tony shook his head, patting Bucky’s arm. “Bucky was fixed, put back together again. Steve, do you think I’m fixable too?”

“ _Tony-_ ”

The machines started to beep as Bucky groaned. Helen rushed over to help him sit up. Steve and Tony lifted his other side. 

“Carefully now, you don’t want to rip your stitches. You won’t find it as fun when I have to sew it while you’re awake.”

Bucky squinted as he opened his eyes. “Fuck. How is everyone?”

“Everyone else is fine,” said Steve. He leaned against the wall. “Thank you for saving my brother. And I’m so sorry that you got injured-”

Bucky waved his hand in the air. The one that wasn’t still holding onto Tony’s, noted Helen with a smile. 

“I’d be a shitty captain if I allowed any of my passengers to get hurt.”

“Sure,” said Steve with a smile. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

“Nothing too difficult on the stomach Steve,” warned Helen.

“I’ll grab you some chicken noodle soup.”

Bucky raised his eyebrows, “Since when did we get that?”

“Since Steve made it for dinner last night. He’s a good cook.”

Steve blushed a bright red, “I do my best. I want to contribute somehow, so- I’ll be back.”

After Steve left, Bucky cleared his throat again. “So, what happened with Hammer?”

“Bam!” cheered Tony, “Helen said goodnight.”

“With my clipboard,” agreed Helen. She passed Bucky a cup of water with a straw.

Bucky sipped gratefully, before leaning back, “Thanks. Everyone alright? Where’s he now?”

“Natasha said hello with her fists!” said Tony.

Helen smiled as she slipped on the blood pressure cuff. “They were worried about you. You lost a lot of blood.”

“The human body can be drained in seconds given adequate vacuuming systems,” said Tony with a hum. 

Bucky laughed loudly, wincing immediately a second later. “Ah fuck.”

Tony squeezed Bucky’s hand with a frown. “Sorry.”

Helen shook her head with a smile. “No more making him laugh Tony. At least, not for a while.”

Tony tapped his fingertips against Bucky’s hand. “No joker. Prince.”

Bucky grinned. “Sorry your highness, we were mistaken.”

Helen ruffled Tony’s hair. “Keep an eye on him for me alright? I’m going to check on Clint and Natasha.”

Helen couldn’t help but feel lighter as she left the lab, the sound of Tony and Bucky’s banter fading away. 

Warmer indeed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fills TSB, card #3043 square A3: Free Square.

“Who’s winning?”

Steve looked up just as Sam swung his legs through the gaps, sitting down next to him on the walkway. Steve looked back down below. “Not sure. No matter how long I watch, I can’t seem to figure out the rules.”

“That’s the fun of it, there are no rules. Tony seems to be enjoying himself.”

“Yeah,” agreed Steve with a fond smile, “It’s a good day today.”

After waking up, Tony had refused to go back to the lab after that first day. Steve was worried about what the Academy had done to Tony. He was still strapped to the chair when Steve broke him out disguised as a guard, only to hide him into another container before he was woken up. and pleaded with Tony to let Dr. Cho examine him, but Tony refused. Dr. Cho was patient and understanding as she examined him in their shared room. “It’s understandable. I don’t blame him after what they put him through-”

Steve sucked in a harsh breath. “What- what exactly did they do?”

Helen let out a long sigh. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Tell me. Please.”

“I can only guess the full picture. With the scars on his arms, it looks like they injected him with something. Without further testing, and bringing him into the lab, I can’t find out much more than what we know now.”

Tony still refused, deciding to run away every time Steve brought the conversation up. He was fast and managed to slip out of Steve’s grip every time he tried.

He should’ve figured it would’ve been science that eventually lured him back there.

Steve watched with amusement as Tony tried not to look interested in the shiny metal arm on display as Dr. Cho checked the captain over. Slowly but surely, he inched closer and closer to the lab, until Bucky held it up, reaching out to Tony, and asked if he wanted to see it. 

It was like a moth to a flame. Even when he was younger, Tony never was afraid of taking the toaster apart to try and figure out how it worked. Steve couldn’t tell if it was because Bucky was half asleep without his morning coffee, but he sat still. He let Tony poke and prod at his arm, while Dr. Cho did her observations on Tony. 

Slowly but surely, Tony’s curiosity overcame his fear of the lab. It didn’t take long for Steve to find Tony in there keeping Helen and Bruce company as they did their own research.

Unfortunately, the good news ended there. Even after all of her and Bruce’s theorizing, they were unable to figure out what exactly was done to him while he was with the Academy.

Bruce pulled him aside one day, showing him the results of the blood scan. “It’s altered, his DNA. It’s re-coded in way that it shouldn’t be-”

Steve’s alarm must have shown on his face because Bruce was quick to continue, “it’s stable from what I can tell, it doesn’t seem to be harmful, somewhat helpful even. It seems like the cell regeneration speed is much higher than the average rate.”

“What does that mean?

Bruce clasped a hand on his shoulder. “Physically, he's going to be a little faster than the rest of us at getting over a cold, or flu. What other side effects that might mean, we’re not entirely sure. Mentally- until he's ready to talk about it, we can only guess."

Bruce had a dark tinge to his eyes, his jaw clenched as he exhaled. "They tortured him, tested him to see how far they could push things. It'll be a long road, but Helen will be able to help him cope. But recovery is not always an upward trend. We'll keep an eye on him, and see what we can learn, but we'll do our best to help him.”

Steve ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. “Thank you. I appreciate your help.”

Bruce squeezed gently. “He’s different, but he’s still Tony. He’s got you, and the rest of us now too, to help him. He’ll be alright.”

Bruce was right that day. Looking at Tony now, Steve couldn’t help but notice the changes. Sure, he still had a long day to go. But as he watched him down below, laughing and having fun with the rest of them, Steve couldn’t help but feel proud. 

Tony stood off to the side, muttering under his breath as he kept his eyes on the ball, watching the rest of the crew toss it around to each other. Natasha, Helen and the other researcher on the ship Bruce, were on one team, while Bucky, Tony and Clint were on the other. 

Steve was about to see if Tony wanted to sit with him, but he could see that Tony was starting to relax. A few minutes later, he jumped into the game when Natasha ‘accidentally’ dropped the ball by his feet.

He squealed with glee as Bucky swung him up on top of his shoulders before they charged down the court. They weaved and turned, bulldozing through to score a goal through the hoop. Bucky slowly lowered Tony down to the ground before raising his hand for a high five. 

Tony slapped his hand a few times and Bucky smiled down at him. “That’s right, just like that."

Beside him Sam chuckled, “He’s good with him.”

Steve leaned back on his hands. ‘Yeah, I was surprised at how fast Tony’s taken to him. He’s not as much of a- well-"

“An asshole?”

“...grump.”

“Ha! You’re too polite.”

“He’s just a lot different than he was when we first met. He seemed very to the point. Not like someone who'd necessarily be so patient with Tony’s endless stream of questions.”

“While I’m glad that Tony’s doing much better, I actually meant that Tony was good for Bucky” said Sam. He nodded his chin towards them. “You haven’t known him before you both joined the ship, but he’s much softer when Tony’s around. Much more patient. He smiles a lot these days.”

Steve blinked, squinting his eyes to stare at the captain. He seemed as gruff as ever to Steve as he shoved Clint away from sweeping him into a hug. Clint called it his resting bitchface, and while Steve would never say that out loud, it wasn’t too far from the truth. “You mean _this_ is him being soft?”

Sam snorted. “I know, it’s hard to imagine. He might growl and snap at you like a grumpy wolf, but he’s really softened up since Tony’s been aboard.”

Steve watched as Tony beamed up at Bucky as he lifted him up for another goal.

Huh.

Maybe there was something more going on.

* * *

A bone chilling scream filled the air as Tony sprinted past them down the hallway. Natasha frowned, and shoved the last spoonful of cereal in her mouth before she followed after him. 

“Tony?”

Her hand on her hip by her pistol as she scanned the area for any immediate danger. Seeing nothing jump out at her, she kept her hand over her pistol as she weaved past the crates and towards the small crawl space she suspected Tony had crawled towards.

“Is everything alright?”

She could hear Tony muttering to himself from his hiding spot. “Too much green, radioactive green-”

“Котенок tell me what’s wrong.”

Sam ran into the room, out of breath, Clint and Bruce a few steps behind him. “Where’s the fire?”

“Not sure, something must have spooked hi- oh wow.”

Sam turned to look behind him and choked. “No wonder you scared him man. You’re bright green.”

Bruce frowned as he touched his face. “ _Oh no_. I honestly forgot I had it on-”

Bruce tried to wipe the bright green face mask off with his shirt, but it was already dried and caking. He grabbed a water bottle from the table and started to clean his face. “I didn’t mean to scare him. Tony, I’m sorry-”

Natasha turned back to the crawlspace. “You hear that? Bruce is washing it off now.”

“Still there, radioactive green, like a giant. Giant green bean man-”

Natasha bit her lip. “You’ve really done it now, he hates green beans-”

Clint was choking with laughter. “It’s okay Tony, giant green bean man is gone. Don’t worry, we promise Bruce won’t make you eat them.”

Tony shuffled forward, eyeing them suspiciously. “No more green beans?”

“None, see?” said Sam, nudging Bruce closer. “He’ll even eat all your green beans for you tonight.”

Natasha raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

Clint coughed. “Why not? Yep. Right Bruce? See, all gone.”

Tony nodded, staring at Bruce’s face with a nod. “Okay. Sorry.”

Bruce smiled now. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault I scared you.”

“S’okay. Thank you.” hummed Tony.

“For what?”

Tony beamed. “For eating all my beans.”

And without another word, he turned around and ran out of the room.

“...”

“He just played you man.”

“Like a fiddle.”

“I hate you all, so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left to go! I hope you've all been enjoying these snapshots from this verse ♥


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter in this verse!  
> TSB - Card #3043 - S4: Resurrection

“Bucky?”

Tony stepped into Bucky’s room, his arms wrapped tightly around himself as he tried to figure out what to do.

Bucky had his eyes scrunched closed, tossing and turning in his sleep. Natasha had told him that sometimes, her and Bucky would remember things from back in the war, that they, like him, would sometimes get bad dreams.

Night terrors, she called them. “We don’t get them as often anymore but every once in a while-”

She shook her head. “Sometimes they’re living nightmares.”

Tony wanted to go knock on Natasha and Clint’s door, to wake her up and get her to help Bucky. But Clint and Natasha were off ship right now, gathering info for the next mission, and Tony would have to figure out how to solve this on his own.

What would Steve do?

When Tony had a day where nothing was working, where nothing in his head made sense, Steve would always be there. Tony always felt like the worst brother ever, whenever Steve had to pull him away to stop him from ripping things up, like Sam’s book. He didn’t know why he did it, he just knew that he was just so angry-

He tried so hard, tried to be good, but no matter how much he tried, no matter how much _Steve_ tried- nothing he did could fix him. 

Maybe he was really just broken.

At this point, Steve would pull him into a hug. 

“Different doesn’t mean bad Tony.”

But if he wasn’t different, then he wouldn’t have been sent to the Academy in the first place, where different meant being pulled apart and put back together again-

Tony just wanted to be normal.

Tony shook his head. Focus, focus, focus. Focusing was so hard these days. He needed to help Bucky. Bucky, who was still twisting and kicking at the air.

Tony stepped closer, his hands hovering a bit above Bucky’s body. “Bucky? Wake up-”

His hands hovered over Bucky’s body now, unsure of what to do. He hesitantly reached out to touch Bucky on the shoulder when a blur shot towards his neck. Tony sucked in a breath as Bucky grabbed his neck with a surge. 

“Bucky!”

Bucky’s eyes shot open with a gasp. His eyes widened, horrified as he let Tony go like he’d been burned. ‘Tony, oh my god-”

Tony coughed, then shook his head. “Bucky-”

Bucky’s hands were shaking as they hovered over Tony’s body, like they were scared of him all of a sudden. “Fuck Tony, I almost killed you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry-”

Tony shook his head, and crawled closer every time Bucky tried to shift backwards. “Surprised, that’s all. I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not-”

Tony reached out to grab Bucky’s metal hand firmly. “I’m _fine_. Look. No marks.”

Bucky looked like he was about to cry now, kind of like how Steve did sometimes when Tony said something. Tony never liked when Steve looked sad like that. 

“That’s not what I meant, you should never have marks like that. I shouldn’t have hurt you at all-”

Tony intertwined their fingers together. “I’m stronger than you. You can’t hurt me. I can kill you with my mind.”

“Honey, I know that you have some training but I almost killed yo- oh shit!”

Bucky jolted in surprise as he was tossed backwards. The metal beams above had unraveled themselves, and wrapped themselves around Bucky’s torso, holding him high up above the ground. His jaw dropped as he floated along the wall. 

“Oh. You literally meant that you could kill me with your mind.”

Tony nodded. “Yes. Like the starwalker.”

“Skywalker. Luke Skywalker. We’ve got to show you more of those movies- holy shit, you can move things with your _mind_ -”

Tony gently told the beams to let him go slowly, and carefully lowered Bucky back to the bed. He shifted closer, tugging on Bucky’s shirt again. “I’m sorry. Steve told me not to tell anyone. I don’t want to be scary.”

Tony could feel Bucky relax, all the tension leaving his body. He felt Bucky’s arms wrap around him with a sigh. “You’re not scary honey. I was scared that I was gonna hurt you, not the other way around.”

“Well you should be. I’m the broken one.” 

Bucky tightened his arms around him. “Whatever they did to you in the lab when they injected you with that stuff-”

“Extremis.”

“With Extremis. You survived that. You were stronger than they were, and you did what you needed to survive. You’re not normal, but neither am I, none of us are really. But that doesn’t make you broken honey. Just because you’re different now, it doesn’t mean that you need to be fixed.”

“...just like you?”

“Well I can’t argue that can I?” laughed Bucky with a shake of his head. “I guess I should take my own advice.”

Tony tilted his chin up, so that he could look Bucky in the eyes. His eyes were dark now, but in the light, Tony loved how brown they were. They were warm, always warm, especially when they looked down at Tony like that. Looking into them was like drinking his favourite cup of coffee. 

“Bucky.”

“Hmm?”

Tony bit his lip now. “You should talk to Helen and Sam.”

“Helen and Sam?”

Tony nodded. “She’s good at making the bad dreams go away. He makes your chest feel lighter after you tell him about the bad man in your dreams.”

“I guess I should listen to the genius huh?”

Tony closed his eyes now as he snuggled closer, making himself comfortable, sprawling on top of Bucky. "Yes. I'm very smart."

He felt Bucky's laughter against his head, metal fingers reaching up and gently stroking through his hair. Tony felt his eyes droop shut. Bucky's chest was nice and warm, and he couldn't help but close his eyes as Bucky hummed a soft goodnight. 

* * *

“IT’S BAD, WE’RE RUNNING!” yelled Clint as he sprinted past Sam. Sam scrambled to his feet as Bucky, Tony and Steve charged past him as well. In the far distance, a gravely snarl echoed beyond the trees.

He turned and ran as fast as he could. It was hot, humid and sticky, and Sam was more than ready to get out of this weird jungle, especially now that they were apparently being chased by giant, alien dinosaurs? Thankfully, it didn’t take him long to catch up with Natasha, Bruce and Helen. “I thought this was supposed to be easy!”

Bruce gave him a withering glare. “When was the last time anything went to plan?”

“... you got me there.”

Ahead of him, Tony waved his arms, and slowed down to a stop. “Other way!”

Before they could say anything, Tony turned and started sprinting back towards the way they came, but slightly west. Steve and Bucky’s heads whipped around. 

“Tony?”

“The ship is this way doll-”

Tony shook his head, almost disappearing from view now as he ran further into the trees. “Over here!”

Steve and Bucky glanced at each other for a second before they sprinted after him. “Tony!”

Helen and Bruce stumbled to a stop before turning to chase after them without another word. Clint skidded to a stop in front of them, flailing a bit before he caught himself. “Shit!”

Natasha helped him up and tugged him back. “This way.”

Sam groaned. “Back the way we came then.”

They all turned and ran after the trio ahead. 

“Do we have a plan? I really hope we have a plan if we’re going to be facing this thing head on-” yelled Clint as he ran after them.

“Improvise!” answered Natasha, “You wouldn’t end up following our plan, even if we made one!”

“Ouch. Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “You said that this morning when I ate the last piece of toast.”

“It was true then too!”

“So it wasn’t you who ate my last cinnamon bun last night?”

“...curse me and my endless sweet tooth!”

The sounds of snarls drew nearer, but the group continued on. To Sam’s surprise, the trees thinned out and they were running on a white sandy beach. “Wait, what? How did that get there?”

Their ship was landing towards the sand and the walkway was extended a few seconds before Tony, Steve and Bucky ran onto it. 

“Wait a minute,” said Clint, counting the group as they ran, “If we’re all here, who’s flying the ship?”

“Tony” said Helen with a laugh.

Clint blinked. “No, Tony was with us a second ago.”

They ran up the ramp, into the ship and seconds after the door shut, they collapsed onto the ground with a groan. 

“I am never leaving the ship again,” said Bruce with a sigh.

They murmured their agreements, unmoving as they recovered. Bucky popped his head in. “You alright?”

They all groaned and Bucky chuckled. 

Clint sat up with a jolt. “But no seriously, who flew the ship?”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “Tony did.”

Tony popped his head in with a grin. Sam waved back at him. “But how?”

Tony wiggled his fingers “Faster please. Three seconds!”

Sam jolted as he felt the ship pick up speed for a few seconds before slowing down back to their initial pace. “Woah.”

Clint’s jaw was still dropped. “...that makes so much sense. Holy shit! What else can you do that’s amazing!”

Beside him, Steve helped him sit up. “There you go.”

Sam grinned at Steve. “So that’s why he kept asking us to show him Star Wars.”

Steve sheepishly grinned. “Yeah. I think he made Bucky watch the series with him a few times. I don’t think he minded though.”

Bucky had tossed an arm over Tony’s shoulder as he continued to chat with Clint. Sam could see how Tony leaned into the touch, even as he bounced on his toes. Bucky only had eyes for Tony though as he watched him, as he chatted away to Clint and Helen. 

Sam smiled, “Yeah.”

He squeezed Steve’s shoulder with a nod. “I’m glad we all made it home.”

Steve’s eyes softened. “Yeah, home.”

Tony waved them over cheerfully. “Bruce is making pancakes!”

“I think we have some leftover fruit that should go well with those,” mused Helen. 

“Blueberries?” beamed Tony.

“Probably,” said Bucky. “I think we still have some from yesterday. I’ll see if we can find some in the fridge.”

Natasha nodded. “I’ll grab the sausage.”

“That’s what she said last night-” snicked Clint. 

Natasha raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want to go into details of what really happened last night?”

“...I’m going to move the tables.”

Bruce popped his head out of the kitchen, “Steve can you show me where you moved the flour?”

Steve rushed over. “Oh I moved it over by the other cabinet-”

Tony tugged at his sleeve. “Omelettes?”

Sam laughed. “Sure, I’ll whip up some of my mama’s famous omelettes.”

They were all home.

**Author's Note:**

> The fantastic art was done by the wonderful MassiveSpaceWren, make sure to give them some love in the comments!


End file.
